The Wrong Reasons
As someone who commutes by bike, I'm occasionally assumed to ride for all the right reasons. In some cases, I'm taken to be a fervent environmentalist, commuting by bike to save the world from the impending doom of global warming. In other cases, I'm granted the qualities of a health fanatic, someone who rides many miles most days in order to extend my life and heighten my health. Finally, more pragmatic types think that commuting by bike must save time and/or money, and attribute my riding to shrewd calculations and logistical insights. In each case, there is a reason beyond riding itself that makes me commute by bike. After all, why else would someone choose as laborious and difficult a way to get to work? I must have higher ideals driving my decisions, these people seem to assume.
The fact is that I don't have any real higher ideals that make me cycle to work. I just plain like it. I have done a bit of the math, and I think it actually costs me more to bike to work than it would to drive. At an assumed fully loaded rate of US$0.45 per mile, it costs me about $27 per day to drive round-trip to and from work. With all the extra food, drink, and equipment I have for bicycle commuting, the laundry for the bicycle clothes, and the amortized costs of my bike, I think I'm coming out just about even. After all, two bottles of decent hydration can run US$6 by themselves, and I need two each way, so there's US$12 right there! Add to that the extra breakfast when I arrive, the gels on the way home, and the extra food at dinner to replenish after what is a relatively long commute (about 27 miles each way), and we're just about in the same ballpark. I may save some money, but it's not hundreds of dollars a season, more like tens, and probably in the lower range all tolled.
Global warming isn't the reason, either. I think I've done my homework here, as well, and despite the Oscar-winning histrionics of An Inconvenient Truth, the facts seem that global warming may be something that the globe is just doing, with a little human embellishment occurring right now as icing (no pun intended) on the cake. In fact, it's a very complicated planet,we seem less significant than we want to believe, and our computer models and investigations of empirical evidence yield rather crude predictions about where we're headed. Some pollution cools the planet, other types warm it a bit, but human ingenuity is probably our best bet for getting us to move away from fossil fuels. I personally would love a solar-charged electric car that would be cheaper, quieter, and more efficient. I think nearly everyone would. But bikes aren't a practical response.
My health may be part of the reason, but again, I could be almost more healthy by not commuting by bike. Small particulate air pollution is at its densest in the middle of a road -- so, if you're breathing in a car all the time, you're breathing in a lot of small particles -- but it's nearly as dense on the shoulders. Breathing around traffic at a higher rate and more deeply due to cycling probably doesn't do my lungs many favors. In addition, the cardio benefits of 2-3 more rides per week by commuting versus just riding on the weekends are probably marginal. If fitness were my goal, I could probably achieve all I need without commuting by bike.
And I don't commute by bike to save time. While there are days when commuting by bike is nearly as fast as driving, due to traffic congestion, it's unpredictable. Usually, I'm about 15-20 minutes longer on the bike, and sometimes have dinner warmed over.
No, I have to admit, I like commuting by bike because it's pleasant for many months of the year. I arrive at work mentally refreshed, calm, and at peace. My energy level is good, and I have a better attitude and perspective on things thanks to 75 minutes of trees, pedaling, concentration, and free thinking, combined into a commute. Commuting by bike is fun. It's purely selfish. I commute by bike for all the wrong reasons. And that's good enough for me.
The fact is that I don't have any real higher ideals that make me cycle to work. I just plain like it. I have done a bit of the math, and I think it actually costs me more to bike to work than it would to drive. At an assumed fully loaded rate of US$0.45 per mile, it costs me about $27 per day to drive round-trip to and from work. With all the extra food, drink, and equipment I have for bicycle commuting, the laundry for the bicycle clothes, and the amortized costs of my bike, I think I'm coming out just about even. After all, two bottles of decent hydration can run US$6 by themselves, and I need two each way, so there's US$12 right there! Add to that the extra breakfast when I arrive, the gels on the way home, and the extra food at dinner to replenish after what is a relatively long commute (about 27 miles each way), and we're just about in the same ballpark. I may save some money, but it's not hundreds of dollars a season, more like tens, and probably in the lower range all tolled.
Global warming isn't the reason, either. I think I've done my homework here, as well, and despite the Oscar-winning histrionics of An Inconvenient Truth, the facts seem that global warming may be something that the globe is just doing, with a little human embellishment occurring right now as icing (no pun intended) on the cake. In fact, it's a very complicated planet,we seem less significant than we want to believe, and our computer models and investigations of empirical evidence yield rather crude predictions about where we're headed. Some pollution cools the planet, other types warm it a bit, but human ingenuity is probably our best bet for getting us to move away from fossil fuels. I personally would love a solar-charged electric car that would be cheaper, quieter, and more efficient. I think nearly everyone would. But bikes aren't a practical response.
My health may be part of the reason, but again, I could be almost more healthy by not commuting by bike. Small particulate air pollution is at its densest in the middle of a road -- so, if you're breathing in a car all the time, you're breathing in a lot of small particles -- but it's nearly as dense on the shoulders. Breathing around traffic at a higher rate and more deeply due to cycling probably doesn't do my lungs many favors. In addition, the cardio benefits of 2-3 more rides per week by commuting versus just riding on the weekends are probably marginal. If fitness were my goal, I could probably achieve all I need without commuting by bike.
And I don't commute by bike to save time. While there are days when commuting by bike is nearly as fast as driving, due to traffic congestion, it's unpredictable. Usually, I'm about 15-20 minutes longer on the bike, and sometimes have dinner warmed over.
No, I have to admit, I like commuting by bike because it's pleasant for many months of the year. I arrive at work mentally refreshed, calm, and at peace. My energy level is good, and I have a better attitude and perspective on things thanks to 75 minutes of trees, pedaling, concentration, and free thinking, combined into a commute. Commuting by bike is fun. It's purely selfish. I commute by bike for all the wrong reasons. And that's good enough for me.
posted by Recycled Cyclist | 5:52 PM
1 Comments:
I was shocked to discover that there are regular bike commuters who commute for the "right" reasons but they actually don't really care for the biking aspect of it. I appreciate the benefits, but I commute by bike because I like doing it too.
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